Anson D. F. Randolph, New York

Anson Davies Fitz Randolph (1821-1896) was a native of New Jersey. He worked at the American Sunday-School Union as an errand boy until opening his own store in 1851 at 669 Broadway. He sold mainly religious books but also began publishing at that time.

Anson D. F. Randolph brought in a partner in 1869 and the outfit's name changed to Anson D. F. Randolph & Co.

In 1896 the company suffered financial reversals. Because of the losses, Randolph sold its retail business to the American Baptist Society. Unfortunately the sale did not produce enough capital and the company went bankrupt. He died shortly thereafter and the firm was dissolved.

Dating the Randolph books usually is relatively easy as most of them had title page dates. Because of a number of moves, a book’s date can frequently be approximated.

Addresses
1851-1852 669 Broadway
1853-1863 683 Broadway
1865-1875 770 Broadway
1876-1886 900 Broadway
1887-1891 38 West 23rd St.
1892-1895 182 Fifth Avenue
1896 91/93 Fifth Avenue
1897-1899 103 Fifth Avenue

Most of the books that Randolph published for children/ juveniles were of a moralistic/ religious type. The series and libraries were sold as boxed sets.

Since the books for the most part did not identify with any series on the covers or title pages, determining which series a particular book belonged to can be quite difficult. This is especially so since so many of the titles appeared in more than one Randolph series in addition to being part of one of the Sunday School Libraries.

Books published into the late 1870’s for the most part were blindstamped with various embossed cover patterns.